Wendy Davis aide: 2014 run for governor possible

A strategist for Texas Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis said Friday that she is “looking very closely” at a run for statewide office, including the governorship, in 2014.

That’s further than Davis, who vaulted to national notoriety this week after staging an 11-hour filibuster against a bill to limit abortion rights, has gone in describing her political aspirations. As recently as March, she said she planned to run for reelection to her Senate seat.

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A statement to POLITICO Friday from Matt Angle, director of the Democratic political firm Lone Star Project and a Davis strategist, provided more clarity about a potential statewide bid — and it could come sooner than later.

“Right now, she and her team, in collaboration with the Lone Star Project, are looking very closely at the dynamics in Texas and the circumstances coming together for 2014,” Angle wrote.

“Working closely with the Lone Star Project, Senator Davis’ team is pulling together the information needed in terms of financial commitments and voter attitudes to make an informed decision on statewide prospects,” he added. “Certainly, the events over the last week or so show a groundswell in Texas. We have to see if it all adds up to a statewide campaign.”

Davis’s filibuster made her the toast of Democrats across the country and triggered a flurry of speculation over her political future, including whether she could become the first Democrat elected to statewide office in Texas since 1994.

“There’s a gubernatorial election in 2014,” MSNBC host Chris Hayes said in an interview with Davis on Wednesday. “Are you going to run for governor?”

“You know, I would be lying if I told you that I hadn’t had aspirations to run for a statewide office,” Davis said.

Facing a similar question in an interview with local media published in March, Davis said, “I am running for my Senate district in 2014 and looking forward hopefully to earning the confidence of my community once again and being reelected for that seat.”

Democratic groups including Battleground Texas and EMILY’s List praised Davis after her filibuster, a sign of her newly increased fundraising potential. Her last campaign finance report, filed in January, showed Davis with $407,000 on hand and no debt. Her next report is due July 15.

On the Republican side of the statewide ballot, Gov. Rick Perry has not said whether he will run for re-election. Attorney General Greg Abbott is considered a likely candidate if Perry does not run. Lieutenant Gov. David Dewhurst attracted his third Republican challenger for that statewide seat this week.